Say Goodbye to Viva Macau Airlines

Like a thunder in the bright sky, that's how I felt when reading a news about Viva Macau Airlines (ZG). Government has suspended Viva Macau operation due to several issues.

[

Viva Macau cancelled all flights from March 28, 2010 because unable to pay fuel bill to their supplier. Crisis has hit hard on airlines industry, and Viva Macau is one of them although it has support from Macau Government. This will hit Macau Tourism pretty hard because Viva Macau brings a lot of tourists to Macau by its budget flights.

Out of Office: Going to Thailand

[

Surprise for me when I was selected and invited to go to Thailand by TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) Jakarta Office (www.wisatathailand.com). Invitation to attend TAT's Golden Jubilee Grand Reception as well as to join tour exploring Bangkok, Phuket, and the Phi Phi Island. As this is my …

Weekend Getaway: Lampung

Considering too many times of spending weekend in Bandung, I decided to try a different route and city. Then Lampung came into my option.

Lampung, with Bandar Lampung as its capital, is the most southern province of Sumatera Island. From Jakarta, the quickest way to Lampung is by car for 7-8 hours ride. Flight to Lampung's Raden Inten Airport is definitely a waste of time from Jakarta, considering effort to CGK airport and 2 hour prior check-in time.

To visit Lampung, you need to spare at least 2 full days. Day trip is not recommended, just calculate your travel time (7 hours each way).

The Journey

How is the route to Lampung? You don't need a map for this, but for your peace of mind, grab one as your guide. First, take toll-road from Jakarta to Merak. Then ferry cross Sunda Strait to Bakauheni, and continue by car to Bandar Lampung.

Jakarta-Merak toll fee is IDR 38,500 for private car, journey time is 1 hour and 20 minutes from Tomang for average speed of 90 km/h. Be caution on several section of the road that may have some cracks and road works.

Hotel Review: Eurostars Gaudi Barcelona

Choosing hotel to stay in Barcelona is practically not a big problem. There are a lot of good hotels to choose at your preferred location.

Eurostars has many hotels in Spain, at many big cities like Madrid and Barcelona. This time, I am writing one of them, Eurostars Gaudi.

Located not far from Gaudi's masterpiece: La Sagrada Familia, Eurostars Gaudi offers great view to it. Choose a standard room, we'll get view to the in-progress church. Get an upgrade to junior suite, with a balcony, at the highest floor, the view will get better. The location is very convenience, at the corner of Consell de Cent street, just only 50 meter outside Monumental Metro station exit.

Getting to Java Jazz Festival 2010

As advertised by Indonesia TV channels, as well as Euronews TV across Europe and TV cables, Java Jazz is getting bigger this year.

[

Java Jazz Festival is an annual event in Jakarta to attract and satisfy jazz lovers with so many International Artists in the line up. This year in …

Hotel Review: Shangri-La Jakarta

As one of Jakarta best hotels, Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta offers luxury and Indonesian hospitality in the very heart of Jakarta CBD.

Located just behind Jl. Jendral Sudirman, Jakarta busiest main road, this 5-star rating hotel practically is serving business oriented customers in weekday, while on weekend left for leisure seekers.

[

Travel Planning: Hal Kecil Tapi Penting

Biasa kalau mendengar kata travel planning, kita asosiasikan dengan tempat tujuan wisata. Mau ke mana saja mulai dari hari pertama datang sampai pulang wisata. Jika menuju negara yang sudah pernah dikunjungi, atau yang bahasanya masih bisa dimengerti mungkin memang cukup mudah. Namun kalau mau tamasya ke negara yang Inggris bukanlah bahasa yang dimengerti penduduknya maka Anda akan kerepotan.

Banyak hal-hal kecil yang perlu kita rencanakan (setidaknya diketahui) supaya kita tidak kebingungan saat tiba di tempat tujuan.

Travel News Round up

Reaching end of 2009, travelers around the world are getting more problems in this December.

Heavy snow in America and Europe delayed almost half the scheduled flights in major airports like Washington DC, Frankfurt, London Heathrow and CDG Paris. Those airports became very crowded and almost like chaos.

For those still plan to travel in this season, consider using train as first option. Train schedule is more reliable although in bad weather like heavy rain and snow.

[

Exception is on EuroStar trains, which connect London with Paris and Brussels via Channel Tunnel. Last week, 6 trains freezed in the middle of tunnel for more than 10 hours because of electricity problem. Thousand of passengers left without electricity and food supplies in those trains and thousands more in each stations are unable to depart for several days.